The setup

Both teams were impressive down the stretch, with Washington winning seven straight and
clinching the NFC East with a final-week victory over Dallas. Seattle won seven of eight, including
a three-week stretch in which it scored 58, 50 and 42 points. A regular-season game between the
teams last season got a little chippy. “I can remember going up there last year and almost fighting
at the coin toss,” Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “So they don’t like us, and we don’t
like them. It’s going to be a heck of a game.”

Key matchup

Redskins QB Robert Griffin III

vs. Seahawks defense

Griffin combined accurate passing (20 TDs, only five interceptions) with 815 yards rushing, a
record for rookie QBs. But he has been hampered by a strained knee and will face a swarming
Seahawks defense that allowed the fewest points in the NFL and ranked fourth overall. How many
shots can Griffin continue to take? CB Richard Sherman leads the Seattle secondary with eight
interceptions.

Stats and stuff

The Seahawks are in the playoffs for the seventh time in 10 seasons, the Redskins for just the
fourth time in 20 years. … Seattle QB Russell Wilson tied Peyton Manning’s record for TD passes by
a rookie with 26. … The teams are meeting for the third time in the playoffs. Seattle won in 2006
and 2008.

Fun fact

These teams can run the ball. Washington RB Alfred Morris, a rookie out of Florida Atlantic,
finished second in the NFL with a franchise-record 1,613 yards. “He’s a sixth-round pick who plays
with a chip on his shoulder,” Griffin said. Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch, meanwhile, was third in the
league with a career-high 1,590 yards. The Seahawks ran on an NFL-high 55 percent of their plays,
and the Redskins were second at 52.2 percent.

How it might play out

The battle of rookie QBs makes for an intriguing matchup, but it likely will be the defenses
and running games that determine the outcome. Morris vs. Lynch seems to be a wash, but the Seahawks
‘D’ is too good even for RG3.